Hair

Two weeks ago Kimberly Stotmore found herself accosted for her shaved head. A man grabbed Stotmore as she walked to her car in the parking lot of Santa Ana College and accused the mother of two of being a skinhead. Stotmore, also an 18-year nurse, tried to explain that her lack of hair was merely the result of chemo treatments she recently completed while combating breast cancer. “He didn’t believe I had cancer, he didn’t want to believe me,” Stotmore said.

Dusty Simington doesn't mince words when he sets the standards for his students at Salon Gregorie's. "Efficiency is key ? so is cleanliness, so basically you have to be perfect," he told the dozen-plus students gathered on the top floor of the Newport Beach hair hot spot where master stylist Simington works with the some of the top hair professionals in Southern California. Television producers hope Simington's passion for excellence and impeccable style bode well with viewers craving more sights and sounds from the "OC."

While putting on his uniform to attend an all-boy Catholic high school in Orange County, Marshal Kennedy Carolan never dreamed that in a few short years he would grow out his hair and travel the country, doing drugs, dissing the establishment and taking part in political demonstrations. All onstage, of course. Carolan is part of the ensemble in the national touring company of the famed (and divisive) "HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical," which underwent a successful Broadway revival in 2009.

"Gimme a head with hair, long beautiful hair … shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen. Give me down-to-there hair, shoulder length or longer, flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, hair!" We're not talking about my hair actually, even though it's usually a little long. We're talking about "Hair," the musical. It's back, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts through Thursday — brash, rowdy and, fortunately, as outrageous and funny as ever. The full title is "Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.

My 14-year-old grandson, Ethan, called last weekend from his home in North Carolina. "I just wanted to say thanks, Opa," he said. I wasn't expecting that. It was a bit of a donnerschlag (thunderclap)! Thanks? What'd I do? I made a quick assessment of the situation and came up with zilch. Zip. Zero. I had no idea what he was talking about. No doubt my wife, Hedy, as she's been wont to do, Fed Ex'd some gift she couldn't pass up on the Internet. It'd likely just arrived on Ethan's doorstep, and he was calling to thank us. But because I had no clue as to what the shipped item was, I couldn't claim credit for it. Drat!

Can it be more than 40 years since Orange Coast College musical theater star Diane Hall moved to New York, changed her surname to "Keaton," and won a role in the original production of "HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical"? Well, Diane Keaton's (non-musical) movie career, including an Oscar for Best Actress, moved right along, while "HAIR" became pigeonholed as a period piece and hadn't been heard from much until 2009, when the show won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.

Chris Moya has arguably the best hair, the best nickname and the best shot on the Estancia High boys' soccer team. Coach Robert Castellano doesn't care much for the hair and nickname. As for the shot, it's special. With the shot comes the other two. Moya tends to run his fingers through his hair after he strikes the ball. Moya then hears teammates on the bench call him "The Beast. " Castellano just shakes his head when he hears anyone refer to a 5-foot-6 and 140-pound sophomore as "The Beast.

The roar of cheering students drowned out the buzz of the electric hair clippers being used to shave John Muir Middle School Principal Dan Hacking's bright pink hair into a Mohawk Wednesday at the school's Family Fun Night. Hacking had agreed to have his hair shaved and styled into a colored Mohawk if students raised $2,500 for the Red Cross to help Hurricane Katrina Victims. Assistant Principal David Cole agreed to join him if the students raised more than $3,000.

George Parros keeps a secret under that tight hockey helmet. The Anaheim Ducks right wing grows his hair long during the year for Locks of Love, a nonprofit that provides wigs to children who have suffered medical hair loss, and gets it cut just before the holidays. Last year, Parros had his girlfriend wield the scissors at home, but Saturday, he decided to make it a public spectacle. The Newport Sports Museum by Fashion Island hosted Parros’ December ritual, with the Ducks star and nine other volunteers getting in the chair to donate their locks.

Tom Titus Some sage once said, if you can remember the 1960s, you weren't really there. And certainly those characters depicted in the rock musical "Hair" -- if they're still around in the 21st century -- would recall the latter years of that decade through a hazy, hallucinogenic blur. It's taken 35 years, but UC Irvine has finally given this "tribal rock musical" its moment in the sun. Somewhat juvenile by today's standards ("Rent," for example)

When I stop by The Harp Inn in Costa Mesa, it's usually to unwind or to have a good time. But I was there for a different reason Sunday when the St. Baldrick's Foundation held its special head-shaving event to raise money for children's cancer research. I still had a great time, one that ended up being deeply profound and meaningful. I never intended to become a part of the story. I did feel connected to the event because my father, Julian, died of leukemia when he was 50, and I also know people close to my heart who are dealing with other forms of cancer.

My 14-year-old grandson, Ethan, called last weekend from his home in North Carolina. "I just wanted to say thanks, Opa," he said. I wasn't expecting that. It was a bit of a donnerschlag (thunderclap)! Thanks? What'd I do? I made a quick assessment of the situation and came up with zilch. Zip. Zero. I had no idea what he was talking about. No doubt my wife, Hedy, as she's been wont to do, Fed Ex'd some gift she couldn't pass up on the Internet. It'd likely just arrived on Ethan's doorstep, and he was calling to thank us. But because I had no clue as to what the shipped item was, I couldn't claim credit for it. Drat!

Chris Moya has arguably the best hair, the best nickname and the best shot on the Estancia High boys' soccer team. Coach Robert Castellano doesn't care much for the hair and nickname. As for the shot, it's special. With the shot comes the other two. Moya tends to run his fingers through his hair after he strikes the ball. Moya then hears teammates on the bench call him "The Beast. " Castellano just shakes his head when he hears anyone refer to a 5-foot-6 and 140-pound sophomore as "The Beast.

Sandra Everett remembers the first time it happened. She was 13. While seated in a class - although she can't recall which one - she experienced irritation on her scalp. While attempting to stay attentive, she reached up to massage her head. But one yank and out came a clump of dark hair. And so it began. Today, 15 years later, Everett suffers from full-blown Trichotillomania, the compulsion to pull on hair, sometimes on places other than the head, until the strands break. The urge didn't decrease even as her tresses began to thin.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a Newport Beach Movember team has raised more money than any other U.S. team, making it the organization's second-highest fundraiser globally. Led by "Coach" John Cornuke, a Costa Mesa native who now lives in Newport Beach, Team Nuclear's 170 members have raised $85,192, which puts them ahead of the 12,908 other American teams. By growing mustaches from Nov. 1 to 30, the men raise funds and awareness for men's health issues, such as prostate and testicular cancer.

For a group of select men, it's almost that time of the year when they don't even get the "luxury of growing a goatee. " So says Brad Barton, who, along with the rest of Team Nuclear, will start things clean shaven Nov. 1 and grow out his mustache - and only a mustache - throughout the month. The local team's facial-hair efforts are part of Movember, a combination of "mo" for mustache and November. The international initiative aims to raise funds and awareness for men's health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer.

It's safe to say the football is secure with Talalelei Teaupa. The day after he plays tailback for Newport Harbor High on Friday nights, the 17-year-old plays with a knife on fire. Holding onto the ball is easy when compared to how Teaupa handles a machete engulfed in flames at each end. Teaupa is a Samoan fire knife dancer on the weekends. You've probably seen one before if you've been to a luau in Hawaii. Picture a bare-chested dancer twirling, throwing and catching a flaming knife and that's Teaupa.

As Tala Teaupa got his haircut at the Matador Alcove, he was not only donating to Locks of Love to commemorate family members, but he was also kick-starting an upcoming fundraiser for his high school. Patty Zimmerman, owner of Matador Alcove and Shanghai Hair Salon, and her staff will host its first "cut-a-thon" Sept. 16. All proceeds will go toward the Newport Harbor High School Associated Student Body. "My family is third generation from Newport Harbor," Zimmerman said. "They have been great to us. " Zimmerman, who has done hair in the Newport-Mesa area for 30 years, said the salons' staffs chose to donate to Harbor because of their close connection with the students.

A group of people once brought a drunk man to the Prophet Muhammad, thinking that because alcohol is forbidden he would react harshly. Instead, the prophet questioned their judgmental behavior and criticism, telling them that he knew the man loved him and God. I'm telling you this because a few weeks ago I had a conversation with a local imam on what determines faith. I told him that I believe Islam teaches that faith is between one person and God, that a person's appearance to outsiders doesn't determine his or her level of devotion.